Artistic Leadership
Olesia Castuera
Music Director
Olesia Gordynsky Castuera has been with Bella Musica Chorus since 2023. Originally born in Ukraine, she grew up in the Philadelphia area regularly singing in Ukranian, Russian, and English. She studied Music Education at Eastern University with a concentration in voice and has a masters degree from Messiah University, where she studied choral conducting with Dr. Rachel Cornacchio and Dr. Joy Meade. Along with many engagements as a soloist, Olesia has sung with the Mendelssohn Club Chorus in Philadelphia with conductor Paul Rardin and the San Francisco Choral Artists with Megan Solomon.
Since moving to the Bay Area, she has worked as a conductor with the Berkeley Community Chorus and with Pacific Edge Voices. During the school year, she is also a local music educator and has taught in Philadelphia, Berkeley, and Mill Valley. Her eclectic musical interests and experiences allow her to connect to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Rebecca Haas
Accompanist
Rebecca Hass is a pianist, composer, collaborative pianist, educator, and creative coach in the San Francisco Bay Area, dedicated to creative curiosity and joy. She has extensive experience collaborating with classical performers, groups, and movement artists, including Diablo Women’s Chorale, Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs, Payvand Vocal Ensemble, and Opera on Tap SF. Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Music degree in piano, with a concentration in art history and anthropology from Ithaca College, and is a Nationally Certified Teacher of Music through MTNA.
Rebecca has been part of the Brazilian music scene in the Bay Area since 2019, and performs solo shows of her own compositions and arrangements, as well as with Som Dela, Women Composers Collective, CWICO (Creative Women Improvising Composers Orchestra), and other groups. She was also a long-time member of the Minneapolis Brazilian percussion group Batucada do Norte, and a founding member of the Modern Spark Trio. Her website is rebeccahass.com.